Avalon
by UnlimitedLavenderWorks
Summary: Alternative Ending to Fate's first route. He gazed at her, engraving the way her golden hair shone with the hues of sunrise, cherishing every second before their imminent farewell. She smiled, though with a trace of grief: Her beautiful dream was coming to an end. Shirou x Saber. Complete (For now). May turn into a drabble collection.


The beautiful hues of sunrise, streaking across the wide cerulean sky in pastel watercolors, made for a stunning background to their final farewell, as they shone and reflected upon their silhouettes, almost as if they were dancing around the waking scenery.

Clear, verdant green eyes stared at him, from barely a couple of meters away, as golden strands of hair and embroidered royal fabric shook in the light breeze, finally free of the silver armor that previously adorned it, almost making the spectacle feel surreal for him.

 _Across from her, golden eyes shone like molten gold in the morrow, staring lovingly at her, as short auburn locks shook very slightly in the soft breeze. His clothing showed wear and tears, and his skin wasn't much better off, but his posture spoke of his accomplishments, and all of his wounds and scars were proof for it._

A gentle smile graced those fair features that seemed ever so younger than him, yet shone with the wisdom of decades beyond what he could even imagine, and it was understandable, after all, if one knew just about enough.

 _He stood straight in his own chivalrous charm, making the blonde both proud and nostalgic; He would have made a great knight. If not for his skills, for his firm belief in his ideals, his courage and his noble deeds. Looking oh so young, and also way too mature for his years. She was briefly reminded of a younger version of herself_

His given name was but a murmur, a ghost upon her rosy lips, just a small fit of impulsiveness that overtook her briefly, but he still could easily hear it over the quiet stillness of the mountain in the morrow.

 _He nodded, returning the smile as he bid a nearly silent farewell to the young woman he had grown so painfully fond of, knowing how unlikely it would be to meet her even once more after that end. She resisted the urge to shout her true feelings right then_

Small, crystalline tears glistened upon the blonde's eyes as she gazed at her beloved, from what felt like a distance impossible to overcome for either of them, and he wanted nothing more than to wipe her tears away and take her into his arms, but he stayed as he was.

 **For it would be far more painful for both of them if they were to cross that short, yet endless distance between them.**

 _And such, the farewell was sealed with her soft yet firmly voiced confession of those feelings she stubbornly refused to profess to him until the very end, having harbored, discovered and accepted them naught but less than a week prior to that very moment. She didn't close her eyes for a second, wanting to engrave these last few moments to her memory for eternity._

Closely following her words, the sun's light picked up brightness, as a raging wind sprung suddenly around him, making him close his eyes and shield his face with both arms.

"Yes... This is so like you..." He whispered dryly, though with a trace of undoubtable fondness as he thought back on the Servant who he knew, had been standing in front of him until the very last moment.

And as he thought about the last memory of her that he held, that of mere minutes prior, he smiled. After all, seeing the petite knight in naught but her simple battle dress, lacking both the heavy silver armor and her signature golden sword, hair falling to her shoulders, he would only feel the look suited her greatly. He wanted to burn that sight into his memory so that he may never forget it.

His eyes remained closed as he took a shaky breath, both completely ready to face the truth of looking upon the empty plains, and fervently hoping that she wasn't gone just yet.

However, he knew clearly the latter was but wishful thinking and nothing more, and acknowledged that in order for things to keep moving forward properly, she had to return to her proper time.

Therefore, before opening his eyes, he mentally bid her a last farewell with his full gratefulness, hoping that she could have a safe journey back.

What he didn't expect, however, when his eyelids lifted to a new whisper, and his eyes adapted once again to the growing sunlight, was staring upon the beautiful lady yet again, with a sheepish smile upon her features, and the previous reasons for withholding her tears, all but forgotten as they rolled down her cheeks and fell off her chin in thick droplets not unlike the dew drops below.

In a show of emotion anyone had rarely seen from her, she bit her lip and furrowed her brows, as she attempted to hold back her sobs, and he just couldn't take it anymore.

He carefully took a dazed step forward, and his hesitant movements slowly but surely crawled onto a sprint, that which he hadn't dared attempt before, stopping suddenly as he reached the, now openly crying female and encased her within his arms.

Saber just sighed shakily, returning lightly the embrace, and nearly melding into the reassuring warmth it provided her with.

Her tears stained his shirt, and most of his own fell upon her golden hair, but neither of them cared as they embraced as if it was their first and last time doing so.

Neither of them knew how long it had been before he pushed her away ever so slightly to stare into her eyes, which shone like emeralds in the light from the still rising sun —and smiled.

"Saber..."

"Yes?" She asked, returning the smile with a soft one from herself, despite the tears that shone still from her cheeks.

"I love you too" He whispered, wiping away the moisture under her eyes before bringing her close again, this time for a different purpose.

Her cheeks lit in a reddish tone, but her smile didn't falter in the slightest as she closed her eyes to gladly return the gesture, finding it amusingly hard to smile uncontrollably and kiss him properly at the same time.

They kissed chastely yet sweetly until breathing became urgent, his hands holding tenderly onto the small of her back, and hers cupping his face between her palms, drawing invisible scribbles upon the skin of his cheeks.

He didn't wonder why, or how she had managed to stay with him —Neither of them did, really—, but instead thanked whatever deity or power in the world had allowed him such immense happiness in the moment; She didn't dare mention the thought of possibly disappearing at any given second, but instead basked in the immeasurable joy that just staying brought her.

Although both of them had known it probably would have been for the best, they couldn't help but feel relieved that it didn't happen.

After a couple of seconds of comforting silence, he broke it as he took one of her hands, after they were back at her sides, into his own. "Shall we go back home?"

Her nearly unnoticeable smile widened ever so faintly, as she nodded, squeezing softly with the grabbed hand.

And as such they walked under the finally awake sun, holding hands and smiling; for they knew and hoped, that their days would be filled with such happiness to rival that brought upon by the heartfelt moment they had shared naught but moments prior.

 **And from a faraway land, nearly unreachable to most, inside of a tall tower in the middle of a neverending field of vibrantly colored flowers, a tall yet weary silhouette smiled, for he just knew that his most talented pupil had finally attained the dazzling future she had always deserved.**

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 **A/N:**

 **Hello! Me again. This time I bring you something less angsty, with a dash of romance. I apologize for the length, but, I'm not too great at controlling the duration of my stories, so they usually end up this short, or waaay to long.**

 **This is my first published sword x sheath pairing fic! I hope you like it, because there won't be any more for now; None of my current projects involve them, so we'll have to settle for this.**

 **I hope you enjoyed my take on the "Good Ending" for Fate/Stay Night's Fate route, and I hope you share your opinions of it with me in the reviews.**


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